2. How do I place my advert on Total Cars?
Placing your advert on Total Cars is easy. Just register with Total Cars (in the top right hand corner of the home page or click here to register now), then you are able to place your advertisement. Click the link to advertise on the homepage, or if you are logged in click "My Advertisements" under member options in the top right hand corner, then follow the prompts. Before placing your ad, please see our Advertisement Checklist, Writing your Advertisement and our Selling Guide.

3. When will my advertisement appear on the site?
All advertisements submitted to Total Cars must obtain approval from Total Cars staff before being published on the web site. Length of time for advertisement approvals varies dependant on the payment method chosen and when payment is received.

Advertisements supplied on-line to Total Cars 9.00am Monday until 4:00pm on Friday are processed within 24 hours and published on the site immediately upon approval, providing payment is received. Advertisements submitted late Friday and on weekends are processed on Monday morning, with the exception of National Public Holidays.

In order to avoid delays in processing your advertisement approval, it is important that we receive your payment as soon as possible and, if paying by direct deposit, cheque or money order, you must ensure you include the reference number indicated on your advertisement for us to match your payment easily. Common mistakes people make when paying are using references such as 'car ad', 'Total Cars', or simply using their first name e.g. 'Mike', or the type of car advertised e.g. 'Land rover'. References like these are to be avoided as we are are unable to process the payment as we cannot match the payment to the advertiser, which then delays approval of the submitted advertisement.

4. What if I want my advertisement approved quickly?
In the event that you require your advertisement published as soon as possible, we recommend payment via our secure credit card facility. If you don't wish to pay via credit card, the only other option is to email us confirmation of your direct deposit.

• Vehicle Registration Number, or Vin Number if currently unregistered.
• Odometer Reading
• The post code of where the vehicle is located
• Your asking price, and if you are accepting offers
• Make, Model and Colour (e.g. Daihatsu, Applause, Red)
• The Model Year of Manufacture and the Variant (e.g. 1999, Executive 4 door sedan)
• The engine size and transmission (e.g. 1.6i 4 cylinder, 4 speed, Automatic)
• Full feature list (e.g. Air Conditioning, CD Stacker, Power Steering, Alloy Wheels etc)
• Up to 8 photos of your car. If you are unable to submit photos digitally can can mail them to us see Advertising a Vehicle
• Your written description of the vehicle - for hints on writing your advert see Writing Your Advert
• Your payment method, we accept payments by Bankcard, Mastercard, Visa, Postal Order, Cheque and via Direct Deposit.

• Dribbling on and on about how wonderful your car is. Keep your advert simple and to the point. No one wants to see or read an advert that goes on for half a page! We nearly go to sleep reading them to approve them, and so will buyers.
• Leaving out important information. Don't be fooled into thinking CD Stackers are standard in your car and everyone knows that (they don't). List any feature that has potential to help sell your car. Here are some examples: low KM, 12 or 6 months registration, recently serviced, near new tyres, new brakes, mechanically sound and extremely reliable, economical, any parts that have been recently replaced or serviced e.g. clutch, exhaust, re-gassed air conditioning, new CV joints and so on.
• Being dishonest. If your car is in excellent condition then by all means say so! But if it isn't, don't be tempted to make your car sound better than it is in an attempt to get buyers to look at your car. All that will happen is that buyers will be met with disappointment, will be even less likely to buy your car and you will be wasting both your time and theirs! In addition, if you do misrepresent the vehicle to a buyer and they have trouble with the vehicle, depending on the circumstances, they may be able to take legal action against you for their losses incurred.
• Setting the asking price too high. Oh, the woes of those who try to sell their car and want too much for it. It doesn't matter how well your advert is written if you set your asking price too high. So you've spent thousands since owning the car, or you need $11,000 to be able to buy your next car. So what? The buyer doesn't care. They only care what it is worth in comparison to other vehicles just like it and what is the best buy for them. Price your car from the buyers perspective if you want a response to your advertisement, otherwise you will be waiting by the phone and we can almost guarantee it won't be ringing!.
• Not adding a photo or photos of your car. A potential buyer will want to see photos and not having a picture may put them off. Take pictures of the front and side on an angle, the front directly, the side, the back, under the bonnet, the front interior, the rear interior, the boot and a close up of any special features of your car, Mag wheels, for example.

In short, keep your advert simple and to the point, be honest, get the asking price right and add photos!